Rake-cleaner.



RAKE CLEANER. 4

APPLIOATIOI FILED SEPT. 2, 1813.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

T (ZZZ whom it may concern UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS HENRY CLOKE AND LESLIE JOHN SHEAREB, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BAKE-CLEANER.

Be it known that we, THOMAS H. CLOKE and LESLIE J. SHEARER, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in the caunty of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRake-Cleaners; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull,cl,ear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame;

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in rake cleanersand has for its object the provision of a device of the above characterwhich may be easily and quickly applied to the ordinary type of rakewithout materially changing the construction of the same.

Another object of our invention is the provision of a device which willstrip the rake teeth of any litter which may have gathered thereonwithout necessitating the operator changing his position.

A further object of our invention is the provision of such a devicewhich will automatically clean the teeth of the ordinary type of rake bysimply releasing the handle portion which is within easy reach of theoperator.

With the above and other objects in view we now proceed to describe ourinvention in the following specification and accompas nying drawings, inwhich,

Figure l is a'detail perspective view of our improved rake cleanershowin the same as it would appear when applie to a rake, and Fig. 2 isan enlarged detail view of the means by which the cleaning device isheld in position on the rake handle.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference 1 indicates theusual handle portion of an ordinary rake having secured thereto and atthe lower extremity thereof the rake head 2 which preferably comprisesthe T-shaped member having the ontwardlyi extending arms 3 which carrythe rake teeth 4. These rake teeth are preferably segmental in contour.

Our improved cleaning device, which is used in connection with the rakeabove described, preferably comprises a suitable sleeve 5 having formedintegrally therewith the outwardly extending lugs 6 which are adapted toact as a pivot for the bifurcated lever 7 This bifurcated lever ispreferably Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 2, 1913.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914. Serial No. 787,781.

formed of a single strip of material which is bent as shown to form theU-shaped memher 8 which terminates at its lower extremity in thebifurcated arms 9. These bifurcated arms preferably extend 'downwardlyfor a short distance and their lower extremities are bent to form theparallel arms 10 which in turn are bent as shown at 11 and are adaptedto act as a means to secure the spring which will be more fullyhereinafter describe A rearwardly extending projection 12 is formedintegrally withthe sleeve 5 and extendsparallel with the handle for ashort distance, the use of this projection will be more fullyhereinafter described.

Secured to the projection above mentioned we preferably provide thebifurcated spring 13 which lies between the rear extremity of.

this projection and the handle, as will be clearly seen upon referringto Fig. 1. The arms of this spring 13 are extended as shown and arecoiled around the lugs 6. The extensions 14 which are formed integrallywith the arms of the spring 13 are a continuation of the coils andextend downwardly as clearly shown in the drawings to the point 15 fromwhich they are again bent u wardly and rearwardly to form the hoo s 16which act as a stop to prevent the stripping bar, which will be morefully hereinafter described, from passing beyond the lower extremitiesof the rake teeth.

The stripping bar above mentioned preferably comprises a strip of metalor other suitable material, indicated by the numeral 17, which isprovided with apertures 18 and hasintermediate its ends the loops 19which are adapted to overlie the ortions of the spring intermediate thecoi portions and the bent portion 15.

The upper end of the U-shaped member 8 is preferably provided with anaperture 20, Which is adapted to receive the end of the flexibleconnection 21 which extends through the screw eyes 22 in the rake handleback to a suitable loop connection 23, carried by a sleeve 24. Thissleeve 24 is slidably mounted on the handle of the rake and hasintermediate its ends the inwardly projecting screw 25. This screw 25 isso arranged that it is slidable in the groove 26, having at its upperextremity the angular extension 27 in which the screw 25 is adapted toseat when the rake is being used.

' improved invention come clogged with undesirable material the What isclaimed is In combination with a rake, a sleeve secured to the handle ofthe rake adjacent its lower extremity, lugs extending outwardly fromsaid sleeve, at diametrically opposite points, a lever pivotally mountedon the lugs, an extension at the rear extremity of the sleeve, saidextension partly overlying the rake handle, a bifurcated spring, the{arms of said spring being coiled around the lugs and extending parallelwith the arms 2 of the lever, a U-shaped member formed integral with thesprings, said U-shaped member being adapted to lie beneath the extensionon the sleeve, a stripping bar slidably mounted with relation to therake teeth, eX- tensions formed integrally with the spring and connectedto the stripping bar and adapted to exert downward pressure thereagainstto normally hold the stripping bar at the ends of the rake teeth, asleeve slidably mounted with relation to the rake b5 handle, and aflexible connection secured to the sleeve and the lever and adapted tobe operated when the sleeve is moved.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

THOMAS HENRY CLOKE. LESLIE JOHN SHEARER.

It will be clearly seen from the foregoing that when it is desired tomake use of our the rake is used in the ordinary manner and should theteeth beonly operation necessary is a slight revolution of the sleeve24: with relation to the handle which will permit said sleeve to slideforwardly and in that way allow the stripping bar 17 to descend withrelation to the rake teeth and cause any trash or other lit-' ter whichmay have gathered thereon to be forced downwardly and off the raketeeth. After the trash has been removed the operator slides the sleeve 2k rearwardly which by means of the cord or flexible connection 21 lowersthe U-shaped member 8 and raises the stripping bar to itsnormal-position, at which time the sleeve 24 is again turned so that thescrew 25 rests in the angular extension 27 of the groove 26. Thus, itwill be seen that the stripping bar will again be in position for useand the process of raking may continue without any interference thereby.

While in the foregoing we have shown and described the preferredembodiment of our invention we wish it to be understood that we maychange the specific arrangement, and combination of parts, without inany way departin from the spirit and Witnesses: scope of our inventionas defined in the ap- DELBERT H0011, pended claims. I Eowm Hocrr.

